Defensive Coordinator Search

[h=2]Colorado Daily – The Search for A Defensive Coordinator[/h]–January 1st … CU in a few minutes …Program Note … This is the second of four profiles of CU Defensive Coordinator candidates (the David Gibbs profile can be found below). Profiles for D.J. Durkin and Gary Gibbs will be added later todayGetting to Know: Clancy Pendergast
Age: 47
Present occupation: UnemployedCoaching history:
1991 – Graduate Assistant – Mississippi State
1992 – Graduate Assistant – USC
1993-94 – Graduate Assistant/Tight Ends coach – Oklahoma
1995 – Assistant Coach – Houston Oilers
1996-2002 – Defensive Backs coach – Dallas Cowboys
2003 – Linebackers coach – Cleveland Browns
2004-2008 – Defensive Coordinator – Arizona Cardinals
2009 – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs coach – Kansas City Chiefs
2010-2012 – Defensive Coordinator – California
2013 – Defensive Coordinator – USC
–Pendergast’s Coaching Numbers
Pendergast is single, with no kids, and is the epitome of the transient assistant coach.*From 1995-2009, he coached for five NFL teams.* While things went south for Cal during his three years in Berkeley (numbers below), Pendergast is nonetheless considered to be a top defensive coach, and is reportedly on the list of many programs looking for defensive coordinators, including LSU, which lost its defensive coordinator to Texas A&M on Wednesday.California Defensive Coordinator
2010 – Total Defense, 18th; Scoring Defense, 40th … Team Record: 5-7
2011 – Total Defense, 25th; Scoring Defense, 48th … Team Record: 7-6
2012 – Total Defense, 94th; Scoring Defense, 96th … Team Record: 3-9USC Defensive Coordinator
2013 – Total Defense, 13th; Scoring Defense, 16th … Team Record: 10-4
–Pendergast Coaching Philosophies
In a Fox Sports interview entitled, “Ex-USC DC Clancy Pendergast is fired up to build his next dominant D“, Bruce Feldman writes about Pendergast, his coaching history, and his future.The entire article can be read here. Some excerpts:
… Last season, he turned the Trojans from a unit that ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 to No. 1. A few years earlier, he sparked as dramatic a turnaround when he took over Cal’s defense and made it the conference’s top-rated D and gained a rep in coaching circles for having a handle on containing the spread after*his 2010 Bears slowed down Chip Kelly’s prolific offense, holding them to 40 points below their average.
… Whatever the scheme, Pendergast says the most important thing to being a good defensive coordinator is being able to adjust your system and understanding your own strengths and weaknesses. “And,” he says, “being able to fit your players in it and knowing how to make adjustments during the course of a game depending on how someone’s trying to attack you.”
Pendergast also believes it’s vital to get pressure on the opposing QB. “Whether it’s a running quarterback or a passing quarterback, you always try to get them off their spot and give them different looks,” he said. “You don’t want to be vanilla.”
… Pendergast is optimistic that he’ll get back to work this winter. College or NFL, he’s open to either, especially since he’s had great success at both levels.
“I’m*just looking for the best situation,” he said. “Coaching is coaching and teaching is teaching. Whether it’s college or the NFL, I’ve always enjoyed developing the younger players. And I can’t wait to get back to it.”
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December 31st… CU in a few minutes …Getting to Know: David Gibbs
Age: 45 (will turn 46 on January 10th)
Present occupation: Defensive coordinator and interim head coach, Houston Cougars. Former head coach Ted Levine was fired despite the 7-5 record and Armed Forces bowl berth earned. Levine was 21-17 in three seasons as the head coach. Gibbs has been the defensive coordinator at Houston the past two seasons.Coaching history:
- 1991-92 – Graduate assistant, Oklahoma
- 1993-94 – Graduate assistant, Colorado (his alma mater)
- 1995-96 – Secondary coach, Kansas
- 1997-2000 – Defensive coordinator, Minnesota
- 2001-04 – Safeties/Defensive backs coach, Denver Broncos
- 2005 – Defensive coordinator, Auburn
- 2006-10 – Defensive backs coach, Kansas City Chiefs and*Houston Texans
- 2012 – Defensive backs coach, Virginia Destroyers (UFL)
- 2013-14 – Defensive coordinator, Houston CougarsGibbs at Colorado:
Gibbs came to the University of Colorado from Auburn high school in Auburn, Alabama, as a member of the Recruiting Class of 1986, coming to Boulder as a walk-on. After red-shirting during the 1986 season, Gibbs was second on the team in special team points in 1987. As a sophomore in 1988, Gibbs played in all 12 games, including the Freedom Bowl, contributing 11 tackles. In CU’s 11-1 campaign in 1989, Gibbs started all 12 games, including the Orange Bowl. Pressed into service at cornerback (due to injuries), Gibbs had 35 tackles (21 solo), and two interceptions (against Kansas and against Jeff George and Illinois). In the national championship season of 1990, Gibbs played in*eight games (replaced in the starting lineup by Deon Figures), and, in 128 plays on the field, recorded seven tackles and a sack.Gibbs’ coaching numbers
David Gibbs was the secondary coach at Kansas in 1996 when his head coach, Glen Mason was hired away by Minnesota. Promoted to defensive coordinator (the youngest coordinator in the nation at the time, at age 29), Gibbs took a defensive which had been ranked last in the Big Ten and turned it around. Gibbs has had success at all three of his stints as a defensive coordinator:Minnesota*defensive coordinator – 1997-99*
1997 – Total Defense, 63rd; Scoring Defense, 75th … Team record: 3-9
1998 – Total Defense, 47th; Scoring Defense, 40th … Team record: 5-6
1999 – Total Defense, 22nd; Scoring Defense, Scoring Defense 8th … Team record: 8-4Auburn defensive coordinator – 2005
2005 – Total Defense, 19th; Scoring Defense, 6th … Team record: 9-3Houston defensive coordinator – 2013-14
2013 – Total Defense, 79th; Scoring Defense, 20th … Team record: 8-5
2014 – Total Defense, 19th; Scoring Defense, 12th … Team record: 7-5 (with Armed Forces Bowl vs. Pitt pending – Friday, 10:00 a.m., MT, ESPN)Gibbs on turnovers
There is an interesting article from this fall, published by SBNation. The article, *“Houston Cougars always hunt for turnovers. Even when not playing football”, can be found here. Some interesting excerpts:
” … Gibbs’ second year of what he dubbed “The Third Ward Defense,” named for the rough-and-tumble Houston neighborhood that borders the UH campus and practice fields, has UH at 10th nationally in scoring defense despite the additions of more spread teams (Tulane, East Carolina, Tulsa) to the AAC.
“They’re tough, most of ‘em are tough, inner city kids who are fighting like crazy to get out a place like the Third Ward. Even if they’re not all from that area, they’re stereotyped that way,” Gibbs says.
” … Fostering interceptions became a function of Gibbs’ chess-match scheme. Just as hurry-up offenses run a base set of plays over and over from different formations, Houston’s defense would run the same calls from multiple looks. This flexibility is due in part to UH’s rush end position, a linebacker who plays as a standing defensive end regardless of a 3-4, 4-3 or nickel look.
“There’s plenty of disadvantages now coming from the NFL to college, namely the option and zone read stuff. But if you know it’s a pass, if you know they have to pass, coverage-wise, scheme-wise, you can fool a quarterback into throwing you the football. I’m not saying you’ll catch it, but I’m saying the advantage to me — and it’s the only advantage I’ve come up with — if I know it’s pass … let’s say it’s a two-minute situation. If he’s throwing the ball most of the time, eventually I can keep changing coverages and fool a quarterback. I can give him conflict within the game. That might sound like total BS. I don’t know, but I can get him to misread a coverage at one point.”